“Well, when Rome and I were captured by the Onsiras, they injected me with a copy of MASAL’s 24th chromosome. You may end up worse off than you are now.”
“You have already had a child. We know this is not an issue.”
“You’re wrong,” Rei said, holding his hands out. “I was injected after Aason was born. We don’t know what kind of kid we would make next.”
Virga looked away. Her head tilted down for a moment then snapped up.
“The Overmind is willing to take the chance. And I see what you are doing. You are trying to delay. Please do not make this any more difficult. I do not need to clarify the point I made earlier. You know that we can extract your genetic material in a way which is infinitely more painful. I suggest you cooperate since you do not have control.”
“You’re right,” Rei said, exhaling noisily. “I give up. What do you want me to do?”
“Get up on the bed,” Virga said. Rei complied, knowing full well that Virga was watching him as he climbed up.
After he was settled, she clambered up to take a position at the head of the bed. She flipped over on her back and spread her arms and her legs. She looked at Rei and said, “It is time to impregnate me.”
Rei looked down at her and said, “What about foreplay?”
“What is that?” Virga asked, frowning.
Rei sighed. “No wonder the Vuduri don’t like sex,” he said. “You really have no idea, do you?”
Virga raised up on her elbows. “No, I do not. Please explain.”
“Foreplay is like, it’s like getting in the mood,” he said. “It’s how you get intimate.”
“Why do you need to get ‘in the mood’?” she asked. “This is about procreation, not recreation.”
Rei just shook his head. “It’s biology. When a man is under stress, his sperm loses its motility. It decreases the likelihood that the woman will get pregnant. Most people find if you try too hard, it doesn’t work. On the other hand, if you make a man feel wanted, relaxed, things just go better.”
Virga sighed and sat upright. “What is involved?” she asked, unenthusiastically.
“There are no set rules,” Rei replied. “You talk. You make nice. You touch. Then things just start to happen.”
“What do I do?” Virga asked with uncertainty in her voice.
Hmm. Rei is going to teach Virga about sex. It doesn't look like he is going to get out of this. I assure you this will not go over well with Rome. Let's see whatever tricks he has up his sleeve tomorrow.
Entry 4-329: November 20, 2016
The Not Sex Scene 4 of 9
Virga, the leader of the Vuduri on Helome, is determined to use Rei's genetic material to force an evolutionary correction in the development of her charges. Quite simply, she wanted Rei to mate with her people. However, knowing Rei, he wasn't going to go along without a fight. Virga will never see it coming. Here is Part 4 of 9:
“There are no set rules,” Rei replied. “You talk. You make nice. You touch. Then things just start to happen.”
“What do I do?” Virga asked with uncertainty in her voice.
“I’ll start,” Rei offered. He looked into her eyes. “You have beautiful eyes,” he said huskily.
“I do?”
“Yes. As Essessoni, our eyes don’t glow. You Vuduri, the backglow from your tapetum, it’s stunning,” Rei said. “It’s mesmerizing.”
Virga allowed herself a small smile. “Go on,” she said.
“And you have a killer body.”
Virga frowned at this and recoiled slightly.
“No, no,” Rei said. “It’s a compliment. I’m saying you have a body to die for.”
Virga cocked her head and furrowed her brow. Then she raised her eyebrows and smiled. “So you do find me attractive?”
“Absolutely,” Rei said.
Virga pulled herself up and sat in a cross-legged position. “Then I will tell you, you have a beautiful body too. I have never seen anything like it. Your musculature…It is hard to describe. Vuduri men are so, so…”
“Puny?” Rei offered.
“Yes!” Virga exclaimed. “They are small, like women. But you, you are built like I always imagined a man should be constructed.”
“Sleek,” Rei said, straightening his back and puffing his chest out. “I just want you to know that I understand your predicament and I completely agree with your solution. Interbreeding with the mandasurte or Essessoni is exactly what you need.”
Virga’s smile broadened. “I am glad you agree,” she said.
Rei continued. “What’s happening on Helome is exactly what MASAL told me was his plan.”
“You spoke to MASAL?” Virga asked, in amazement. “I knew that you destroyed him but you actually met him?”
“Oh yeah,” Rei said. “Rome and I had nice chat with him before we vaporized him.”
It appears that Rei is trying to distract Virga. She certainly seems to have warmed up to him. Maybe that will make her more receptive to the next bombshell he is going to drop on her.
Tomorrow.
Entry 4-330: November 21, 2016
The Not Sex Scene 5 of 9
Virga, the leader of the Vuduri on Helome, is determined to use Rei's genetic material to force an evolutionary correction in the development of her charges. Quite simply, she wanted Rei to mate with her people. However, knowing Rei, he wasn't going to go along without a fight. Virga will never see it coming. Here is Part 5 of 9:
“You spoke to MASAL?” Virga asked, in amazement. “I knew that you destroyed him but you actually met him?”
“Oh yeah,” Rei said. “Rome and I had nice chat with him before we vaporized him.”
“What did he say?”
“Exactly what is happening here. MASAL said that he designed the 24th chromosome to turn humans into living automatons. He got impatient so he started the Robot War to accelerate the change by thinning the herd.”
Virga gasped. “We had heard about this but I did not realize he admitted this plan.”
“He was quite proud of it,” Rei said. “I think he prattled on too long about it. It gave us time to launch our attack.”
Virga leaned forward. “How did you destroy him? How did you set off that volcano?”
“It was nothing,” Rei said modestly. “Rome and me, we have weapons and capabilities that nobody, I mean nobody, knows about.”
“I do not understand,” Virga said.
“In this case, we used what MINIMCOM called weaponized VIRUS units to dig down, inside of Kilauea. They burrowed down and detonated the volcano. MASAL was vaporized instantly.”
“How did you get them there?”
“I had a pouch full of them. I just sprinkled them all around then ordered them to go for it.”
Virga reached over and took his hand. “Are you saying these are the very hands that destroyed MASAL?” she asked, stroking his palm in a rather sensual way. She curled all of his fingers but one into a ball then inserted Rei’s index finger into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it.
“Yep,” Rei said. He pulled his hand away from her very gently. “By the way, I think you are starting to get the hang of foreplay,” he said.
Virga smiled.
“Now is it time to make a baby?” she asked seductively.
“Well, there is one small problem.”
“What now?” she asked, exasperation creeping into her voice.
“I understand your genetic problem. And I understand your genetic answer. You have the solution right but you are going about it all wrong.”
Rei has been buttering her up. I don't think she is ready to hear what he has to say next. She certainly won't be happy about.
Entry 4-331: November 22, 2016
The Not Sex Scene 6 of 9
Virga, the leader of the Vuduri on Helome, is determined to use Rei's genetic material to force an evolutionary correction in the development of her charges. Quite si
mply, she wanted Rei to mate with her people. However, knowing Rei, he wasn't going to go along without a fight. Virga will never see it coming. Here is Part 6 of 9:
“I understand your genetic problem. And I understand your genetic answer. You have the solution right but you are going about it all wrong,” Rei said.
“How?” she asked. “Why?”
“You made a fatal error in letting Rome go.”
“What? Why?”
“When I said to her, ‘thank your daddy for all the flowers and vines’ that was a code phrase. You don’t realize it but you just declared war on all of Deucado. Mandasurte and Essessoni alike. The mandasurte don’t have much by way of weaponry but the Essessoni sure do. They may be coming back with a strike force that could level your planet.”
“No!” Virga said, straightening up on her knees. “We will defend ourselves.”
“Maybe you could,” Rei said, “or maybe your beautiful world might end up as nothing but dust soon.”
“But I did nothing wrong. We need this,” Virga moaned. “You said yourself that you understand our problem.”
“I do. But think of it this way. Even if you survive their attack, you’ve served notice that this is the last place any mandasurte wants to be. You are willing to kidnap us. As soon as Rome gets back to Deucado, Helome will be declared off-limits. Attack or no attack, you will be embargoed. That means I’m the first and last Essessoni that will ever get to come to this planet.”
Virga gasped.
Rei pressed on. “Every child born of this union will have to breed with his brothers or sisters or cousins. My genes are it. Within two generations, all the recessive elements will come out, hemophilia, mental degeneration, and all sorts of other genetic diseases. Things will get worse, not better.”
Virga’s shoulders slumped. “Clearly the Overmind has not thought this through,” she said.
“That’s kind of their M. O.,” Rei said. “To accomplish your goals, you’re going to require at least fifty donors to create the genetic diversity you need. That chance went to hell when you captured me.”’
Virga clutched her chest. Her eyes went down to the bed. In a whisper, she said, “What do we do? We are doomed as a race.”
So finally, Virga fell smack down into Rei's trap. Of course, Rei was lying but the Vuduri don't know how to lie so there is no way Virga could suss this out. That doesn't diminish the fact that Rei is a caring and careful individual. He is going to offer Virga a way out. An offer she can't refuse.
Entry 4-332: November 23, 2016
The Not Sex Scene 7 of 9
Virga, the leader of the Vuduri on Helome, is determined to use Rei's genetic material to force an evolutionary correction in the development of her charges. Quite simply, she wanted Rei to mate with her people. However, knowing Rei, he wasn't going to go along without a fight. Virga will never see it coming. Here is Part 7 of 9:
Virga clutched her chest. Her eyes went down to the bed. In a whisper, she said, “What do we do? We are doomed as a race.”
Rei reached over and lifted her chin. “Look at me,” he said. “You aren’t wrong in what you want. You are only wrong in the way you are going about it. Trust me. Kidnapping is not the right way.”
Virga stared into his eyes. “What is the right way, then?”
“You ask for volunteers,” Rei said.
“Who would volunteer?”
“Tons of people,” Rei replied. “Your planet is idyllic. I know it’s ironic that the closest star system and the closest habitable planet to Earth is even more beautiful than the Earth itself. But it’s still the truth. And the people here are beautiful too.”
Virga gave him a half-smile. Rei continued. “I’m sure there are many, many Essessoni and mandasurte who would be willing to come to Helome and interbreed to create a race of mosdurece. But only if they know they’ll be treated kindly, not kidnapped and imprisoned.”
Virga put her hand on Rei’s. “How would you accomplish this?”
“Just let me go. I’ll go back to Deucado and I promise I’ll recruit the volunteers for you. It might take a little while but once they find out how beautiful it is on this world, you’ll have plenty. But it has to be of their own free will, not by force.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“You know who I am, right?” Rei pointed to his chest.
“Of course.”
“Then you know about Rome and me stopping the Stareater. We put an end to the war on Deucado. We destroyed MASAL. You know I’m not just about Essessoni or Vuduri but all mankind. If you can’t trust me, who can you trust?”
She stared at Rei for a long time. A tear formed in the corner of her eye. Finally, in a quiet voice, she said, “You are right. We have no choice but to let you go.”
“And that’s way better than an interstellar war, right?”
Boom! Rei did it. He talked his way out of having sex with Virga. But Rei was serious. While he has no idea how he is going to accomplish his promise, he is a man of his word. He'll figure out something.
Entry 4-333: November 24, 2016
Thanksgiving 3505 AD
I wanted to take a break from my Not Sex Scene series to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving from the year 3505 AD. In that far century, the people of Earth are less thankful than we are today. The people of Deucado are more so as their culture is a blend of the mind-connected, 24-chromosome Vuduri, the mind-deaf Ibbrassati, the people from our generation called the Essessoni and another branch of our peers who have been on the planet for 500 years. They are called The Deucadons.
The Deucadons brought with them all of our culture and history as did the Essessoni but after five centuries, things had a way of evolving. With the merging of the cultures, even though they are 26 light years away from the Earth and nearly two full millennia removed from that first Thanksgiving, the people of Deucado still know that they can be grateful for the bounty the planet provides.
The entire Rome's Revolution series is about redemption and every one of the villains found redemption somewhere along the way. None of them were evil for the sake of being evil. All of them had motivations which they felt justified their actions. Their opinions were simply not shared by the majority.
So from the entire Bierak clan, Rome, Rei, Aason, Lupe, Aroline, Zac, Aimee, Arnie, Bruce and Rory along with the livetars MINIMCOM, Junior, Fury, Trey and even the Library OMCOM, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving now and well into the future.
Entry 4-334: November 25, 2016
Black Friday 3505 AD
Yesterday, I took the opportunity to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving from the year 3505 AD. Today I wanted to consider if they had such a thing as Black Friday on Deucado. At first glance, the simple answer would be no. The name Black Friday refers to the fact that from a business perspective, while the year up until this point might have been sucky, meaning red ink, on this particular day of brisk sales, companies can go into the black, meaning profitable.
So there are two barriers to the Vuduri on Deucado observing Black Friday. The first barrier is that they do not have businesses. Deucado is a socialist state. Everyone does what they want and they willingly give away whatever people want. Food can be harvested or synthesized. Energy is plentiful and free. Clothing and other items can by manufactured by machines or molecular sequencers. Oh, and they don't use money. So there are no books to be in the red or black.
The second barrier is that the people of Deucado do not celebrate Christmas. They do celebrate another holiday called Asteroid Day which the anniversary of the date that the asteroid was supposed to slam into Deucado and end all life. You will recall at the end of Rome's Revolution, MINIMCOM had created an army of livetars, filled with VIRUS units, who set about digesting the asteroid. It had ceased being a threat long before the actual date but the people of Deucado were mindful enough, thankful enough, that the date did not go unnoticed.
But...
&n
bsp; In the city of Ur, documented in Rome’s Evolution, we see the beginnings of capitalism and even money. Andrea Grenmuller had built a casino at the top of The Hand and she had invented a coin, called a Deucat, similar in size and weight to a silver dollar, that people could spend on gambling. A bustling marketplace sprung up at the base of The Hand and in that one place, the vendors did sell their wares in exchange for Deucats.
So for those Essessoni who liked the whole swapping of presents during the Christmas, I mean Asteroid Day, time, maybe they make their way down to Ur and buy a few unique items. Not quite Black Friday but close? Anyway, you enjoy the season!
Entry 4-335: November 26, 2016
The Not Sex Scene 8 of 9
Virga, the leader of the Vuduri on Helome, is determined to use Rei's genetic material to force an evolutionary correction in the development of her charges. Quite simply, she wanted Rei to mate with her people. However, knowing Rei, he wasn't going to go along without a fight. Virga will never see it coming. Here is Part 8 of 9:
Virga closed her eyes and sighed. “Yes,” she answered sadly. She looked up at Rei with puppy dog eyes. “Are you sure you could not just impregnate me before you leave?” she asked.
“No,” Rei said. “It’s tempting but you want to do this right.” He hopped off the bed and started getting dressed. “It’ll work out, you’ll see,” he said cheerfully.
Virga sighed again then got off the bed and dressed as well.
After Rei finished with his last button, he turned to her. “Logistically, when I get back there, do you want me to look for men exclusively or do you want some women, too?” he asked.
“I suspect mostly men at first,” she replied with a far off look in her eyes. “But having a few women would provide another avenue toward genetic diversity.”